Creative Economies of Culture in South Asia: Craftspeople and Performers
Much has been written about Kashmiri crafts: their history and provenance, their value to the community that makes and sells them, and about those who buy into the notion of handcrafted. What is seldom examined, however, is the changing nature of these crafts and how they remain at the centre of Kashmiri culture, identity and economy even in times as turbulent as the present. Due to an intractable conflict, fed by ethnic and religious differences, along the Line of Control, which is the de factor border of Indian Kashmir with Pakistan, many generations of Kashmiris have grown up with a ringside view of violence. The conflict in Kashmir has resulted in limited investment and development, and the region risks falling into a spiral of poverty, unemployment and turmoil. Reconstruction is a long and arduous road. According to the World Bank, there are two main objectives: to facilitate transition from war to sustainable peace and to support the resumption of economic and social development, where post‑conflict reconstruction entails rebuilding institutions and jump‑starting the economy (Kreimer 1998). In this chapter, I argue that culturally embedded practices playing a key role in identity creation should also have a role in the reconstruction. Crafts in Kashmir are rich in social significance and cultural value, employ many people and generate significant revenue, which can potentially contribute to economic reconstruction.
Creative-economies